Everything Changes Ch. 04

Dear Readers,

Time for the next chapter including the birth of a wolf pup. Enjoy.

KemMyst

****

Lyssa's belly stuck out in front of her and small movements could be seen on the surface from time to time. Emmett had been after her to work on her sparring but she kept putting it off. She finally ran out of excuses.

So, here she was, standing outside the circle, looking at Alex, inside the circle. Her hands were, as usual lately, over her belly. She felt their little one moving around in there. Some of the females had said it looked like it was a girl.

Her hips felt funny and she just didn't want to do it. What if he caught her there with his claws? What if she fell and hurt him? Her?

It didn't help her feel any better that Natalie and Wade were standing by.

Emmett was rubbing her back. "Sweetheart, you know Alex has the most control, is the best at teaching the pups. He won't hurt you."

Alex carefully watched the Beta pair. Accidents could happen, that was why the healers were present, but he could spar with her and make points, without hurting her. While it wasn't vital that she learn to fight in her current condition, it was a good idea. "Madam Beta, I will remain in human form, if it makes you more comfortable, but you should get some awareness of what your body is capable of in your condition. After all,.."

Lyssa huffed. "I know. I know. You never know when someone's going to come after you."

"Come."

Woodenly, Lyssa entered the circle. Alex looked at her, she was afraid. "Shift."

She breathed a couple of times and became the chestnut wolfwoman. "Good. You know you can hurt me. You know you can knock me down. I will make contact with you, my intention being only to show you where I have breached your defense. Understand?"

Lyssa closed her eyes, breathing a little deeply. "Attack me." He gestured to her with both hands.

"Can't we wait 'til he's asleep?"

[Then you won't want to wake him. Do it now, mate.]

Lyssa stuck her tongue out at Emmett then turned back to Alex who had moved to one side. Her eyes narrowed, he was trying to flank her. She moved in, watching him as he paced one way, and then the other. She tracked him with her eyes, saw him notice the children coming back from a run, and rushed him.

He smiled, stepped sideways, and pulled fingertips across her hip. She twisted, ducked, and tried to sweep his legs out from under him. He skipped away as she worked to get upright again. Her balance was off.

She shook herself and he grinned at her. She hated that grin. Smug. Superior.

Lyssa bared her teeth and circled a little, looking for an opening. Ariel called [Lyssa.] and Alex saw the change in attention. She ignored the call and noticed him coming. Ducking under his arms, she stumbled, recovered, and got upright again.

He made another direct assault and she sidestepped. But he grabbed her by the arm and swung her around, wrapping a hand around her throat. She went still but her chest heaved.

Alex released her suddenly and backed away. "You've been remiss in not keeping up with your training, Madam Beta."

Now that just pissed her off.

She growled at him and Natalie snickered. That pissed her off even more.

She narrowed her eyes and Emmett caught the look. [Don't hit him because you're pissed, mate. You need to work on your balance.]

She shot Emmettt an evil look and faintly heard the sound of an approaching body. Lyssa dropped and threw a leg out but was twisted around as Alex tripped over her. She'd had enough. She curled into a ball on the frozen ground.

Four concerned wolves surrounded her and she waved them away. Emmett crouched over her. "You're not hurt."

"No."

"We aren't done."

"I am."

"Lyssa, this isn't helping."

"I don't care." She turned one dark brown eye to him. "Besides, Ariel wanted something."

"I spoke to her. It'll wait."

None of her arguments were working. She sat up. "I'm tired. I can't take a deep breath."

She needed to work on this. She was a decent fighter, but she needed to be able to handle the change in her body. The chances were almost nil that someone would attack her but, wasn't it better to be prepared? He considered the best way to convince her. "I understand it's hard.."

"Yeah, sure, you're not pregnant."

He closed his eyes. Who knew that she'd be so difficult to deal with during her pregnancy? "It took practice when you first started sparring, to get better. You just need to work on it, again, to get comfortable, to figure out your balance."

Alex spoke up. "The Madam Alpha continued her sparring almost up until she birthed Joanna."

Lyssa exhaled forcefully. "Short sessions, mate, until you get better again."

She looked at Emmett. "OK." But she didn't sound particularly happy about it.

*****

It had taken repeated explanations and entreaties. Juliet and the mates were very reluctant to release Joanna during the last month of her confinement. Visits home were expected and encouraged but they felt slighted, as if their pack healers, they, weren't good enough to carry her through to the end of her pregnancy.

But Nathan explained his promise to her father and that Joanna would feel better being with her own mother near the end, in more familiar surroundings. They finally relented.

Nathan's commute would be longer as a result, but it wouldn't be for long. So, it was a Monday afternoon when the Mini arrived bearing the two Severn wolves.

Nathan got out from the driver's side and opened the passenger door to help his very pregnant mate out. It took three tries to pull her from the low seat of the car. Joanna was immediately swarmed with females of the Wyeth pack. Ariel, of course, was first to embrace her daughter, followed by Lyssa, difficult because of her own burgeoning belly, then Madeline.

As Nathan got the bags out of the car the swarm of females worked their way into the side garden. It was an unusually warm November day. There was the murmuring and laughter of a female-dominated gathering. A small pleased shout went up as Hannah brought out a couple of platters of treats. Simon followed with drinks. He dropped them off and fled.

Joanna and Lyssa were installed in cushioned Adirondack chairs while the others clustered around in a shifting mass.

Nathan was collected and shown to the room they would be staying in. He dropped the bags and Emmett and Erich took him out for a run.

By the time they got back the group had thinned out around the two pregnant females.

Emmett gave Joanna a brief, chaste kiss as Nathan asked after Lyssa's health. They then moved and embraced their respective mates.

Ariel put a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Thank you, Nathan, for bringing my daughter back for this time. I'm sure Juliet is unhappy with you."

"Mom is certainly not happy with us but she understands Jo wants to be close to her mother. I have to call when the pup decides to come."

A doubled howl punctuated the air. Joanna smiled. "Anna?"

Ariel nodded. "Roland's keeping Sally occupied."

Jo laughed "Rolly's pup-sitting?"

Erich chuckled. "Volunteered."

Jo raised her eyebrows. There was more to this than met the eye. Roland was typically more self-involved than that.

Joanna settled back after a trip to the bathroom. "So, how are you doing, Lys?"

"She's a kicker."

"She? It's a female?"

"I've had at least half a dozen females tell me it looks like I'm carrying a girl."

Joanna made and noise and the bulges in her belly moved. "Oh, he's awake. Hey, any of that beef left?"

***

It was three days later that the shower was held.

Joanna had, of course, had a shower already at Severn. But these were her former packmates, the wolves she had grown up with. They wanted to celebrate with her.

She sat at the head table, flanked by Ariel and Lyssa, one end piled high with gifts. And they talked and they ate, and the circumference of her belly was measured.

Presents were opened after a potty break. Little outfits for males, teething toys, cleaning products, little blankets, a couple of stuffed toys.

After all of them had been opened and thanks given, Lyssa expected the females to start dispersing. But Emmett and Nathan appeared, carrying more wrapped packages.

They were placed in front of her.

Surprised, she saw Joanna turn to her, smiling, "Your turn."

Lyssa's presents were similar in kind but geared more toward a female. She also got a sling that she could carry the baby in.

Their mates joined them as the party began to die down.

A number of adolescent males wandered through and left crumbs in their wake. Both Lyssa and Joanna pouted. The beef scallion wraps had been tasty. [Hey, Lys, how do you feel about devilled eggs?]

Lyssa said, "MMmmm", and her stomach rumbled. Emmett kissed her. "Mm, sweetheart, I love you. How's the little one?" He ran his hand over her belly.

"Oh, um, good." She reached up to touch his face.

Nathan had rearranged Joanna, sliding under her and pulling her back against him. "Settled on a name?"

The young couple looked at each other and smiled. "Yeah," Nathan said.

It was 15 minutes later that a platter of two dozen devilled eggs appeared. Settled between the two pregnant females and their mates, it emptied pretty rapidly.

Joanna sighed. "Mmm. Just when he's taking a nap and I'm ready to, Natalie wants to check me again."

Ariel responded, "Sleep, Jo. Natalie will see you after."

Joanna eyes closed. She was warm, comfortable, supported by her mate.

Lyssa levered herself up. "Where are you going?"

"Got some things to work on for the council."

*****

She was bound, face to the wall, blindfolded. Her wrists were cuffed above her head. Her ankles were also cuffed; thighs kept wide and opened by a spreader bar. A black leather corset nipped in her waist and squashed her breasts up, slightly flattening them. Clear spike heels had her bent forward slightly, her behind pushed outward. The red seam up the back of her stockings made her legs look longer than they were. A black leather skirt fell to mid thigh.

She was panting, her heart beating so loudly he could have heard it down the block. And he could smell the delicious wetness forming between her thighs.

Thomas strode forward and pressed himself against her, pushing Lorelei against the wall and forcing a ball gag into her mouth.

He reached up, yanked the front of the corset down, and found and twisted her nipples.

She inhaled and he smelled her juices really start to flow. His fingers found the waistband of her skirt and he ripped it off her, throwing it off to one side.

He grabbed the top of her thighs and pressed his erection into her backside as he growled in her ear and she moaned.

She whimpered as he backed away. Moving to a side table, the leather chaps he was wearing whispered. As he turned back, he slapped the flogger against his palm. She gasped.

He stepped forward, slapping it against his palm a couple more times for emphasis. She twisted and he could see the dampness on her thighs. He breathed in her ear and she flinched slightly as he palmed an ass cheek and kneaded it.

Backing away again, he delivered the first blow. She gasped and he watched the mark redden.

She writhed in her restraints, moaning, as he caressed her ass with the studded leather device. He then began paddling her, to gasps and moans, until her backside was bright red. Thomas then threw down the flogger and pressed up behind her again, fingers digging into one of the fleshy globes of her ass, while the other hand snaked around the front of her body. It took a couple of seconds for him to find her piercing, the small ring in her clitoral hood. As he tugged on it he growled in her ear, "Don't you dare come."

She groaned as he tugged again and pressed his length into her buttcrack. "Hmm. Where do I put this?"

Thomas grabbed her hips, crouched slightly, and shoved his rock hard cock into her sopping pussy. Lorelei shrieked around the ball gag. He felt her tense up. "Not yet."

He grabbed her tits and started pounding into her. About the fifth thrust, he felt the condom break.

Damn. He so didn't want to stop. But that was one of the rules. He had to wear it to have sex with her. There was another advantage - it suppressed the expansion of his knot. So, he pulled out and she groaned. "Need a new condom."

Lorelei sagged against the wall, panting, as Thomas stripped off the remnants of one condom and and rolled on another.

Approaching her again, he grabbed her by the throat, positioned himself and shoved in again. Using a little less force, he resumed thrusting. He could feel her trembling.

"OK, bitch. Now."

An odd, high-pitched sound issued from her mouth and he felt the warm, tight muscles around him ripple. He pushed through them before finding release himself.

Thomas sucked in air and leaned forward, pressing Lorelei into the wall, both of them panting.

After a few minutes recovery, he slid out and uncuffed her. He picked her up, carried her to the bed, and laid her on it. She murmured and cuddled up to him.

*****

Joanna ran down to Medical, a hand under her belly, screaming for Natalie. Ariel could be heard pounding down the stairs after her. "What's going on?"

"Call Nathan."

"Healer?"

"Give me two minutes, please." Natalie looked Jo over, performed a brief exam, and put a hand on her belly, closing her eyes. "No, Joanna, you are not in labor. You're barely dilated."

Ariel held her daughter's hand. "False labor?"

"No."

Joanna ground out. "What? But I felt it!"

"Joanna, your body shows no signs of being ready yet to birth your pup. Some females have contractions in the week or two before they deliver but they are unproductive." She felt the bulge in Jo's belly shift under her hand. "He is active. Everything looks fine."

"OK. OK. So, I'm not having him now?"

Ariel stroked her hair. "No, Jo, sounds like it'll be a couple days or so. This could happen again."

It did. Joanna had another occurrence where she, at least, thought she was going to have her pup. But the contractions were light and irregular.

So, when she actually did go into labor, she didn't want to bother anyone until she was sure. It was a couple of hours after Nathan had come back from a hard day and a long commute.

Joanna had gone to bed by the time he got home. Heavily pregnant, sleep was difficult. She had trouble getting comfortable and felt short of breath. And then there was the kicking and elbowing. Not to mention peeing every hour.

Nathan had had a couple of beers downstairs with Erich, Gordon, and Alex before climbing the stairs. He then dropped his clothes and crawled in with his pregnant mate. Her restless sleep also kept him from sleeping well, but he quickly dropped into a deep sleep.

He was snoring as she rolled and made a noise and made a noise and rolled.

Finally, she shook him. "Nathan. Nathan, wake up." She shook him again. "Nathan."

He snorted, turned. "Huh. What?" He rubbed his eyes.

She was propped up, hands on her belly, eyes closed. She groaned lightly. "Jo? Love?"

She opened her eyes. "I think it's time."

Still half asleep, he asked, "Really? Are you sure?"

Her back hurt. "No, I'm not sure! I've never done this before!"

"OK. OK. Sorry. Whaddya wanna do? Go downstairs?"

She leaned over her belly, muscles tensing. She panted as the contraction ended. "Uh, OK, yeah. I wanna go downstairs."

Nathan stood and rounded the bed as Joanna twisted her legs over the side. He took her hands and helped her out of the bed. She looked up at the corkscrewed mess of his short hair and snickered. "What's so funny?"

He backed up as she came upright to accommodate her belly, their pup. "Bed head."

He scrubbed his hand over his hair as they moved forward.

Nathan knocked softly on the Alphas' door as they passed. She stopped once on the stairs as Ariel came to the head of the stairs. "Joanna, sweetie?"

Nathan looked up. "Think it's real this time." Ariel came to Jo's other side.

"How are the contractions?"

"My back."

Down in Medical, Jo was settled in the birthing room and Natalie entered. The three werewolves in the room turned, sniffed, and looked at her.

Sex. Their healer smelled of sex.

Natalie, however, was all business. "How far apart are the contractions?"

"Not sure, a couple minutes."

"Sounds like it might be back labor, healer."

"Mmmh. Let's take a look, shall we?" Natalie performed an examination. Another contraction began and she glanced at the clock. "OK, you're a couple of centimeters. Has your water broken?"

"I don't think so." Natalie and Ariel smiled.

It happened on her next contraction, five minutes later. Joanna was embarrassed and Nathan was amazed.

The bedclothes were changed and Wade walked in. "Ah, the Alpha daughter brings us another pup." Nathan growled, lightly. "Oh, yes, a Severn pup. Have the Betas been informed?"

"Not as yet, mate."

Erich rose, briefly, and met Randall going down the stairs. Assured the birth was not imminent, Erich returned to his bed and mate.

Emmett inquired after Jo's condition. Hearing she was in the early stages of labor, he also elected to remain with his mate. He did not tell Lyssa, preferring to allow her to rest as much as possible. Although she might be pissed at him later.

Nathan caught the shortest catnaps imaginable in between her earliest contractions. Bleary, he really snapped awake when she yelled at him during one of them. "If I can't sleep, you're not gonna."

Nathan winced, groaned, and requested coffee, strong coffee.

Hannah was roused and worked on supplying the healers, the Alphas, and the father-to-be with snacks and hot liquids.

Joanna sipped water and looked for encouragement from her mother and the healers.

Lyssa rolled and groaned. Half asleep, she dimly heard noises in the hallway. [What's going on?]

Emmett inhaled. [You should sleep, sweetheart.]

Yawning, she got up on an elbow. [Em, what?]

[Jo's in labor.]

Lyssa sat up abruptly, groaned, and flopped backwards. "Lys!"

She opened an eye to look at him. "Guess I shouldn't try that again any time soon."

"What happened? Are you alright?" His voice showed real concern.

"Felt kinda faint; she's taking half my blood or something." Her dark brown eyes looked into his and her brow creased. "Wait, Jo's in labor?"

Emmett looked down at her with a slight smile on his face. "Yeah, for a while now. I wanted you to sleep."

"Em," she groaned at him in annoyance.

He stroked her hair. "She hasn't had it yet. I would have woken you if she was close."

"But she's alone.."

"Lyssa. Lyssa." He took a breath. "Her mother is with her. Her mate. The healers. She's not alone." Those wonderful dark brown eyes looked a bit teary. "Aright, let's go check on her, huh?"

Lyssa started levering herself up and he helped her get upright. She pushed his hands away. "Stop it."

Jo was panting and whining as the contractions came a bit more often. She'd been in labor for 8 hours now and really wanted to be done. But Natalie said it would still take some time.

Lyssa knocked at the door. [Jo? It's me.] She peeked in the door to see Jo's body tense. Her mother was on one side, her mate on the other.

Joanna panted, then began breathing more easily as the contraction ebbed. She looked up, a bit tired looking. "Hey, Lyssa."

"How are you?"

"Tryin' to have a pup. But he doesn't seem sure he wants to come out."

Lyssa looked to Ariel. "She's still in the early stages."

Emmett stood quietly behind his mate, a hand on her shoulder, but his chocolate eyes were taking it all in. Joanna, her hair in two pigtails, propped up, looking tired and sweaty. Nathan, holding her hand, looking tired and nervous. Ariel, somehow poised and expectant. Natalie swept in. "Shall we see how you're doing, Joanna?" A quick exam, and Natalie patted her knee. "Getting closer, just going slowly."